ASIS boss Nick Warner said that working for the Service was fundamentally about working with people.

"While in films and books foreign intelligence work carries a reputation for mystique (and perhaps even glamour), the reality is that those who work for ASIS choose to do a complex and difficult job in secrecy, often facing tough environments, and without public recognition," Mr Warner said in the first ever public speech by an ASIS boss last year.

The spook agency has launched an online and print media recruitment drive based on the slogan IQ+EQ=ASIS.

Mr Warner said the IQ part was designed to attract ``bright, resilient, results focused men and women with strong analytical skills and excellent judgment' to the ranks of ASIS intelligence officers (spies) who recruit and run foreign agents.

EQ refers to the people skills required to succeed in the dark arts of spying.

"They (recruits) need to be very good with people but also know themselves well. That's the EQ (emotional intelligence quotient) component," he said.

"We are very choosy about those we take, we only take the best," Mr Warner said.

He said most people who joined ASIS were attracted by the mission and the opportunity to work overseas pursuing Australia's national interests.

More than 45 per cent of its 500 or so staff are women and they bring a different skill set to the business of making friends and influencing people. The role of female spies was highlighted in the film Zero Dark Thirty about the killing of Osama bin Laden.

According to the ASIS website intelligence officers plan, develop and manage intelligence operations overseas in often difficult environments that draw on their judgment, intellect and inner strengths.

"Intelligence Officers display personal courage, are highly motivated and have an innate sense of curiosity. They enjoy connecting with people from different cultures and overcoming obstacles to deliver results.," it says.

The website includes a job selector tool that allows prospective applicants to answer a series of questions to determine whether or not they might make a suitable spy.

In his speech, Mr Warner said that ASIS's operational sphere was about to become more challenging, volatile and dangerous than at any time since its formation.

That means a much more dangerous work environment for ASIS agents who can, under its regulations, be armed for self-defence.

"ASIS officers will have to operate in denser, more complex urban environments in both developing and developed societies," he said.

"The personal risk to our officers has increased in recent years and will continue to increase.''

They will also work increasingly alongside military special-forces in places such as Afghanistan.

"The ASIS personnel deployed with the ADF have developed strong bonds and it's difficult to see a situation in the future where the ADF would deploy without ASIS alongside."

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